Let's get to it:
ALONSO GOMEZ FROM PUEBLA, MEXICO: After watching the "video game" in Miami when the Dolphins scored 70 points in a win over Denver, I wonder how many and who has the record for the most touchdowns in a game for the Steelers and how many is the most points Pittsburgh scored in a game?
ANSWER: The Steelers team records for most points scored in a game and the most touchdowns scored in a game came on Nov. 30, 1952. The Steelers won the game, 63-7, over the New York Giants and scored 9 touchdowns in doing so. In that game, Lynn Chandnois, a halfback/wingback/tailback who played his college football at Michigan State, got things started by returning the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown. Chandnois also scored the game's second touchdown on a 1-yard run to give the Steelers a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter. And the Steelers dominated the Giants in every phase of the game. The defense intercepted seven passes, recovered two fumbles, scored on a blocked punt, and crushed the Giants physically. The team record for most touchdowns scored in a game by an individual is four, and it's shared by three players – halfback/end Ray Mathews in the Steelers first-ever win over the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 17, 1954; receiver Roy Jefferson in a Nov. 3, 1968, game vs. the Atlanta Falcons; and wide receiver Chase Claypool on Oct. 11, 2020, during his rookie season vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.
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DALE GELLER FROM CAPE CORAL, FL: I know that if a player is signed off another team's practice squad, he must be on the 53-man roster for at least three games, but does he have to be active for those three?
ANSWER: No, that player does not have to be on the gameday roster for each of those three games.
ROD KEEFER FROM EDMOND, OK: It amazes me how many different parts of the country and even the world are represented by Asked and Answered submissions. Do you have something like a thumbtack map showing all the places from where questions have been received? Maybe you could have your "staff" work on such a project - I'd love to see the results.
ANSWER: Sounds like a project for someone with an abundance of free time. You interested?
WILL JAHN FROM TRAVERSE CITY, MI: Are there any plans in the works to bring back "What Went Right, What Went Wrong?" It was quite helpful when one does not have television.
ANSWER: That feature has been discontinued, in part because too many potential readers weren't interested in it because they had watched the game on television.
CHUCK MATTHEWS FROM BOISE, ID: I am sometimes puzzled by positions in the Steelers' defensive line. A player may be identified as a defensive end on the depth chart and a defensive tackle somewhere else. Larry Ogunjobi is an example. In the Steelers' defensive scheme, what is the difference between a defensive end and a defensive tackle?
ANSWER: The simplest answer is that it has to do with alignment before the ball is snapped. Cam Heyward is listed as a defensive tackle because he most often is aligned across from a guard. A defensive end is aligned more to the outside, often across from an offensive tackle.
BRUCE CROSS FROM ELIZABETHTOWN, PA: Can you give us a sense of the travel protocols for an away game, such as traveling to Las Vegas? When do they leave? Given it is a prime time game, do they stay the night after the game or immediately fly back to Pittsburgh?
ANSWER: Departure times from Pittsburgh vary somewhat based on the destination, with it being earlier in the day the farther west the team has to travel. And the Steelers return policy always has been to leave the stadium after the game and travel directly to the airport where they board their charter flight for the trip home.
ERIC OLSON FROM DOWNINGTOWN, PA: Is it me or does Kenny Pickett roll to his left quite often vs. rolling to his right? I hope it is more balanced than I perceive. If indeed he is going left more often, as a right-hander, isn't it more difficult passing across his body?
ANSWER: One of Kenny Pickett's strengths is rolling to his left and getting his body in position to make on-time and accurate throws across his body and that could be a result of his playing baseball when he was young. And the decision of which way he rolls out is less about balance and more about his individual strengths and the alignment of the defense.
JOHN NICHOLS FROM WILLIAMSBURG, VA: Once an obsessive reader of pre- and postgame Steelers game predictions, grades, and armchair fantasies, I now turn instead to the weekly Labriola-Tomlin interviews. The questions draw from Pittsburghers' concerns, but don't attempt to coach the coach on what he should or shouldn't do. The sequence of questions develops a deeper line of thought into a true conversation. And Coach Mike Tomlin's deep responses reveal the thoughtfulness of his professionalism. He (and the team) won't live in their fears with his approach, and neither should we (if one prepared as they do). So, thank you for providing that forum that should make us proud to have a steady hand not only of the team but of reporting about the team.
ANSWER: Thanks for your kind words. Doing those with Coach Mike Tomlin is the highlight of my week.
LARRY HEMINGER FROM SAN DIEGO, CA: Just wanted to offer a big shout-out to Steelers Nation for showing up by the thousands to Allegiant Stadium to make the away game against the Raiders on Sunday night feel like a home game, while providing a warm reception for our team. Steelers Nation was also out en masse at the adjoining hotels and provided a super fun atmosphere before and after the game.
ANSWER: The one I never will forget is when Steelers fans took over Ford Field for Super Bowl XL and created hours-long traffic jams on the road back to Pittsburgh following the victory over the Seahawks. I had someone from Pittsburgh tell me that when a couple of Seahawks fans came to their seats for the game and saw all of the black-and-gold sitting around them, one of them said, "I didn't want to sit in a Steelers section." Whereupon one of the Steelers fans answered, "Today, they're all Steelers sections."
